The Essential Little Black Dress: The Ava By Bianca Elgar

In our quest to galvanize the clutter free revolution, team BuyMeOnce has been obsessing over all things capsule. We’ve been poring over what makes a garment great enough to deserve space in our closets and, more importantly, our lives. Here are our findings: Said item must look awesome. But not simply just on its own – it needs to sit happily with an array of other things and ideally have the ability to be smart as well as casual. Might we be reaching? We’re not finished. This garment needs to be made from sustainable fabric that will endure washing, working and general wanderings of the planet. Oh, and it needs to be perfectly constructed.

We’re confident that we’ve found all this and more in Bianca Elgar’s Ava dress. Do not be fooled by its seeming simplicity. The Ava tunic dress is a jewel in the crown of capsule.

Words: Lily Coultauld

THE SHAPE

The dress is cut straight, skimming the waist and hip, and falls on the knee – an easily wearable and flattering length. The double v-neck (deeper on one side) showcases either the neck or back, depending on which way you feel like wearing it, lending a subtle femininity with barely any effort at all. Sneaky side splits add just a hint of sass without going too far and balance both length and volume. Bracelet sleeves show off the most slender part of the arm – flattering and balancing the volume of the dress.

FABRIC AND CONSTRUCTION

The Ava is crafted from Modal, a yarn made from sustainably sourced beech trees (this particular modal is produced in Austria). The yarn is knitted in a jersey construction with elastane in the UK. Jersey Modal is brilliant for a number of reasons; it’s environmentally kind (aside from the sustainable trees, it takes much less water to produce than other fabrics). The jersey construction together with the cloth itself creates a silkiness and a bounce, meaning the fabric is lightweight and soft but also keeps its shape extremely well. Modal also holds dye beautifully – this black will not fade. Winner! Faded black on clothes (unless intentional) is one of my ultimate sartorial pet peeves. Finally, in terms of construction, all seams on the Ava are reinforced and perfectly finished. This dress will not fail you.

VERSATILITY

This is a chameleon dress. Wear it for work, throw on some heels and take it out on the town or add a cosy jacket and leggings and take it to brunch on the weekend. Belt it, scarf it, loop something shiny through the inspiredVERSATILITY neck loops. The possibilities really are endless. Check out our film to see the dress in action and take note of just a few of the ways you can style it.

AFTER-SALES CARE

Bianca Elgar offers an incredible after-sales guarantee; should anything go wrong with your dress (not that we ever expect it to), simply send a photo of the dress to the brand and they will reimburse for any necessary work. Brilliant!

GET 10% OFF THE AVA

Do you have the ultimate capsule item?

Share a picture of it with us on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #BMOCapsule and tell us what makes it your go-to capsule wardrobe essential to get 10% off your Ava tunic dress purchase!

Restrictions:

• You must post an original photo of your capsule wardrobe item on Facebook or Instagram, tag @buymeonce and use the hashtag #BMOCapsule to receive 10% off your purchase. Once this is complete, we will send you the coupon code via direct/private message.
• One discount code per person.
• Discount code available until 31 March 2017.